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It seems to me that the yard in the lower part of the picture will be exceeding difficult to operate, though I have seen this on other layout designs. How are you supposed to store anything more than a couple cars in the yard, and how do you get in and out of places?

IS that styrofoam you're using? That is, the cellular stuff like cups are made of? If so, I'd recommend ditching that and going with the extruded insulation foam. I get the feeling, however, that for some reason this is hard to find in California. Is that so?

They're not mathematically parabolas, but I have transitional curves on my layout. I am doing the gradual curve transtition "by eye" with flex track.

But this should not be too hard to scratch build, I would think. The ice is flat, and you just need some flat boards around it, then some sort of building. What more is there? Oh - and skater figures.

I have a double crossover (Walthers Shinohara code 83) in my layout, and the two parallel tracks are 2 inches on center. And there's no changing it. Since it in the middle of a straight run, it will work fine, but at either end, I have made the track diverge slightly so that when it comes to the...

Oh, this could be bad... complete wiring design plan draft up a nice wiring diagram drill holes for wires everywhere and run wires construct control panel build removable shelf to handle controllers attach and fine tune about 20 switch machines build three trestles lay down all track...

Yes, yes -- that's the word I was looking for: RASP. Thanks. Need ... more ... coffee ...

"tacit approval" -- Sometimes, that 's all we can hope for! :) I've seen the extruded insulation foam boards in pink and blue, but never in white. The white is probably that cellular styrofoam stuff, which you don't want. That's the stuff that crumbles when you try to shape it. No difference...

Great post, but I have just a couple of minor corrections to add: Actually, the technical term is "wave form". Westinghouse was an entrepreneur, not an inventor. The man who is to be credited with AC and its development is Nicola Tesla. Westinghouse was a benefactor of Tesla, but Tesla deserves...

My entire layout has Walther's Shinohara code 83 turnouts and flex track. I stuck with one brand for compatibility, and this brand has the variety that I need. So far, I'm happy with it, but have not yet installed the track. Ask me in a few months. :)

Of course, don't feel constrained by what RightTrack gives you, either. The software provides only some of the many options available. Other vendors supply a variety of other turnout geometries, for example. Like curved turnouts - so cool. Then of course, there's the ultimate in flexibility...

I am designing the same sort of thing, here, but with the added complexity of multiple controllers (up to 4) and 11 track blocks. I wish to have each block set up with 4 indicator lights (LEDs of different colors) so that I can tell at a glance which cab is controlling the block. What I learned...

It's interesting how everyone has different advice, here. I'll throw in my perspective: 1. Work out all the track details that you can on paper, to scale. I assume you have done this. Use a drafting compass (even a cheapo school compass) to lay out the curves, keeping the location of the curve...

Oh, yes - that's great. No printing functionality, it seems, but you can always do a screen grab and print that. Thanks for the tip!

Right. Mine will look more or less like that, except landscaped for disguise.

HOtrainman - very nice work on keeping it all neat and orderly! I am currently working out prototypes for mounting switch machines and their toggles switches, so my wiring panel is still only in my head. But I've got it mostly figured out. The cool thing about it is that it will actually be...

If you want an inner loop, you'll need to go to 5-ft wide instead of 4 ft. I liked the two loop idea, with an inner yard, and ended up doing 6 ft x 10 ft. 6 ft is a maximum width for me, since it's a walkaround and I can reach only 3 ft into the layout, for all practical purposes. This looks...

You can also use a dual-controller power pack. But what you really need to design into your plan (as I am doing now) is electrically-isolated blocks of track. If you have two loops, for example, isolate them at the crossover(s) with the little plastic track joiners. That way, you can have one...

I was just reading one of my trade rags, Civil Engineering magazine, and noticed an ad for some software for making highway signs - you know, the big green signs with distinctive lettering and all. I thought - hey, this could be useful for modelers! And they have a demo version, though it is...

Well, now that's interesting. And it makes sense -- if there were real silver in there the track would be much more expensive. I'd wondered about that. So it really ought to be called "silvery copper and friends"... :) Now I'm curious about the actual recipe for the alloy...